French Riviera with Erin Mcdowell
october 15 - 20, 2025
A week baking with Erin McDowell in the romantic French Riviera? What could be better?! Join us for the opportunity to learn from the pastry fairy godmother herself in one of the most beautiful places on earth!
6 Days, 5 nights
october 15-20, 2025
From $5900.00 USD
We’ll be staying at the Château Saint Georges, well-loved for its beauty. It even welcomed Queen Victoria of England as a guest way back in 1891! From the château’s terrace, one can look over the valley of Grasse and the lush vistas of the Riviera. We can’t wait to spend time together in the stunning Grande Cuisine, studded with blue marble accents in true Provençale Baroque fashion, and then share our meals in the luxurious Salon Napoléon. The château also has a lower-level spa, with a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna - ready to relax?
What will you do?
We’ll spend the week taking in the southern, end-of-summer sun - both on the grounds of the Domaine Saint-Georges as well as on the pebbled beaches of Nice and Cannes. Erin Jeanne McDowell will lead us in a traditional French Pastry deep dive - from macarons to pâte à choux - and you’ll have plenty of time to ask her questions about achieving success with your sturdy pies! The Rêverie team will prepare unforgettable meals for you in the château kitchen, and we’ll sip on more natural wines than you can remember (don’t worry, we’ll take notes for you).
Aside from relaxing at your new luxury home for the week, we’ll take you to the Fragonard perfumery in Grasse for an atelier of creating your own perfume. We’ll travel to the illustrious city of Cannes where you can walk in the footsteps of the stars and enjoy the famous Marché Forville. And lastly, we’ll take a day trip to Nice for exploring, a private wine tasting, and a glorious meal together in one of our favorite restaurants. Get ready for a splendid time!
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While we hope everyone will participate, all experiences are optional.
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Rêverie has carefully selected activities and experiences that we believe represent the best of the region and our own expertise, aiming to provide an optimal experience for the participants.
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Eating and drinking are communal! You’ll have the opportunity to cook food, taste wines and learn from experienced teachers. We can’t wait to welcome you for our workshops!
Your Guest Host
Get to know:
Erin McDowell
Erin Jeanne McDowell fell in love with baking at a young age growing up in rural Kansas. With a little sweet talking, she landed her first job in a bakery at 16 years old. She attended pastry school at The Culinary Institute of America, with the goal of someday being able to combine her love of food with her love of writing. She started in food media first as a food stylist, but soon was writing and developing recipes for outlets like New York Times Cooking, The Washington Post, Food52, Bon Appetit, and more. She found a deep passion for teaching baking, and started to appear in videos for Food Network, Nickelodeon, Netflix, and Food52, where she hosts the award-winning series Bake It Up a Notch. She has written three baking cookbooks: The Fearless Baker, Savory Baking, and The Book on Pie, which is a New York Times Bestseller.
Learn more about Erin on her website here!
YOUR ITINERARY
*Please note that changes to the itinerary may occur between now and your retreat start date*
DAY ONE
WEDNESDAY 10.15.25
Welcome to the French Riviera! The beloved Château Saint Georges sits on top of a small mountain at the beginning of the French Alps. After your journey up the winding mountain side path, take a deep breath and feast your eyes on your view for the week over the valley of Grasse all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. You’ll be welcomed with a glass of champagne and some post-travel snacks made by your hosts and then you will settle into your room before we gather for a welcome lunch to kick off the week! In the afternoon, we’ll begin the workshop ceremonies with Erin’s first workshop on the mysterious yet deceptively simple Macaron! Come evening, we will all sit down to our first dinner at the château where local vegetables and good wine will be served in abundance.
DAY two
THURSDAY 10.16.25
On our second day, you’ll be greeted with breakfast: fresh local croissants, brioche, French yogurt and as much fresh fruit as we can cram on a table. Then we’re off for our first full morning at the château with Erin leading the kitchen. You’ll wrap up your macaron study making classic fillings and piping them into the shells you made the day before, and you’ll jump into making a brioche dough to be baked later in the day. After lunch, our drivers will take you to the Fragonard Perfumery for your chance to create your very own Eau de Cologne - an unforgettably true Grasse experience! The day will end with dinner together in the grand dining hall and getting to know your new friends.
DAY three
FRIDAY 10.17.25
If we’ve done it right by now, the Château will start to be feeling like a home away from home. You’ll head back into the main kitchen to transform your brioche dough into a number of pillowy treats meant for a king. Should the weather gods bless us, we’ll plan on a leisurely lunch on the château lawns followed by an afternoon to rest and take advantage of the pools and hot tub. In the evening, we’ll head to the balcony for a tasting of regional natural wines and cheeses before heading down to dinner. Yum!
DAY four
SATURDAY 10.18.25
Today we go to Nice! A truly incredible coastal city, filled with bright colors, happy faces, and shopping to your heart’s content. If shopping isn’t your thing, enjoy a relaxing moment on the pebble beaches, a trip to the Musée Matisse, or a bakery tour using our Maps guide. Before heading into the city center, we’ll stop at the centuries-old Nicolas Alziari Olive Oil mill for a demonstration of their stone milling process and a tasting of their classic olive oils. After we drop you off in the city for a day of exploration, we’ll all meet up at La Part des Anges for a guided tasting by the experts of some fabulous natural wines from the region. Our day will end with sunset dinner at Babel Babel, one of our favorite places for fun food and fantastic wines.
DAY five
SUNDAY 10.19.25
Today is our last day to soak in the joys of the Domaine Saint Georges. In the morning, Erin will start a two-part workshop, both parts occurring on this day, for - get ready - puff pastry! This beguiling dough is enough to send a home baker to their knees with its multi-step process and its mythological difficulty toward perfection. Erin will demystify all of this for you, let you get your hands in the dough, and teach you all you need to know from the détrempe to the proofing to the shaping. After some time to get your bags repacked, we’ll meet you on the château lawns for a final dinner together - Rêverie party style!
DAY six
MONDAY 10.20.25
Today, we depart from our home for the week and we soak up every last breath of the view. We’ll send you off with a proper breakfast and snacks for the road. Our drivers will pick you up at 11:00 am to escort you back to the Nice airport where you can begin your journey home….or on to your next adventure ;).
workshops
French technique is the foundation for anyone interested in building their classic baking and pastry skills. We are absolutely chuffed that our guests will have access to the incredible mind of Erin Jeanne McDowell in the stunning marble kitchens of the Château Saint Georges in Grasse. The kitchen and workshop spaces will be open for guests to jump in, watch demos, get their hands dirty and study the nitty gritty technique with one of the best in the business. Erin’s effervescent teaching style, which has brought her such well-deserved accolades, will be the highlight of our guest’s experience during this week.
WORKSHOPS
Brioche - from start to finish, ingredient education to baking methods, shaping to fillings, Erin will take you there!
Puff Pastry - the mystery of laminated dough broken wide open for you! The nuances, the habits, the infinite possibilities of pastries that you can make with this one dough is like getting the keys to the kingdom
Macaron - dare we tempt the humidity gods of summer by making macarons!? We sure do! Erin will take you through the steps of making this beautiful and delicate cookie and you will be invincible!
* Due to the nature of the experience we wish to provide, we can accommodate vegetarians, but will be unable to accommodate any further dietary restrictions.
explore
To best experience the Riviera, one must have a taste of land and sea. We’ll pay homage to the history of nearby Grasse by spending an afternoon creating a custom Eau de Cologne at the Fragonard perfumery while learning about the village’s aromatic history. Later in the week on our way to Nice, we plan to show you to a centuries-old olive oil mill at Nicolas Alziari, where we’ll taste their fresh oils and learn how the olives are processed from fruit to final product. Then, we’ll jump over to Nice for a day of strolling the gorgeous city streets (oh the shopping!) or swimming in the sea, ending the day with a very special guided wine tasting at one of France’s best wine shops + bars, La Part des Anges. The day will end with a sunset dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Babel Babel, right next to the Mediterranean Sea. A true taste of the French Riviera awaits!
OUTINGS
Perfume workshop with local perfume makers at the Fragonard Factory of Flowers in Grasse
Tour & tasting at the traditional Nicolas Alziari olive oil mill in Nice
Explore the beautiful city and Nice
Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, sunbathing on the pebble beaches
Private wine tasting at La Part des Anges in Nice
Group dinner in Nice at Babel Babel
what’s included
Everything! Well. Except for your ride over the ocean and to the Nice airport. But once you arrive, we got you.
Transfers from the Nice airport to the doors of the château in Grasse (and vice versa).
Workshops with Erin McDowell and all associated materials
Recipes galore!
All meals, unless you opt to eat out on your own during our day in Nice
All wine and beverages, unless you wanna have your own after hours party
Private transportation while on retreat to all scheduled activities
All scheduled tours and events during our week and any associated costs
Chateau or villa lodging, naturally
getting here
*Costs of airfare to the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport are not included in the cost of your reservation. Please let us know if we can offer any moral support or guidance with your travel plans - we’re happy to help!
Airplane
Guests will need to arrange for transport to the Nice Côte d’Azur airport. From there, we will arrange for a car service to pick you up and bring you directly to the Domaine Saint Georges. Pickup time will be on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 11:30 a.m. at the Nice Côte d’Azur airport. Please plan your travel accordingly. If you want to arrive in Nice the night before, we’d be happy to help with hotel and restaurant recommendations!
Car
If you’re the seasoned-traveler type and you’d enjoy having your own transportation, then please - rent a car in Paris, Nice, or elsewhere and drive on in to the château! Please let us know if this is your plan so we can help you get to us.
Train
Trains are another option for those who feel comfortable traveling around on their own. We are able to pickup from the Grasse train station on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm.
Travel Reservation
If you would like guidance with booking your travel to the Nice airport or directly to the château, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We know the ropes and would be happy to help you find your best way to us.
Our friends at Coucou French Classes offer some incredible online French language classes - whether you’re looking to brush up on your high school French or looking to learn a few phrases to feel more comfortable with travel, Coucou French Classes is the way! Check out their website for more information.